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Dinosaur Footprints
With Mike Romano I have been carrying out a detailed study of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur tracks and trackways of the Cleveland Basin. This megatracksite is particular significance because of the global dearth of dinosaur fossils from rocks of this age. The Sheffield Dinosaur Track Research Group with supprt from teams of Earthwatch volunteers has carried out detailed surveys of the tracks in coastal outcrops of the Yorkshire Middle Jurassic. A diverse fauna including sauropods, primitive stegosaurs and a wide variety of bipedal dinosaurs together with crocodiles, pond tortoises and fish has been detected. Recent discoveries include the recognition of large megalosaurid prints whose distribution underlines some of the important ichnofaunal changes within the Yorkshire succession. Traces left by swimming dinosaurs have also been recognised and show a distinct distribution linked to the changing palaeoenvironment. Studies of print preservation have been supported by innovative, laboratory-based simulations of footprint formation which were initiated with backing from the Nuffield Foundation.
Dinosaur Eggs
Work is being carried out in collaboration with the Henan Dinosaur Egg Research Group into the shape, classification, preservation, and biogeochemistry of late Cretaceous dinosaur eggs in Henan province in China. The Henan egg sites are among the most prolific localities for dinosaur eggs in the world. Studies are shedding light on the diagenetic alteration of eggshell material and on the factors controlling diagenetic modification.
Carboniferous Palaeoenvironments
My long term interest in Carboniferouys palaeontology and palaeoenvironments stem from my post-gradaute research and from even earlier experiences as an undergraduate. I contributed to the JNCC volume on Lower Carboniferous Stratigraphy and have discovered the largest known trackway of a walking invertebrate, which was most probably made by a giant hibbertopterid eurypterid.
Biomineralization
While working in Hull, I carried out research on the growth and shell structures of bivalves and other invertebrates. From this has developed a particular interest in the biomineralization of barnacle plates and an interest in the shell structure of organisms with phosphatic skeletons.
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